The present invention relates to a hybrid charged particle apparatus, and more particularly to a hybrid charged particle apparatus which is suited for estimating the three-dimensional characterization at local areas of various materials such as a semiconductor material, that is, can form and estimate ultra-micro devices such as a large scale integration circuit.
A conventional charged particle apparatus, as described on pages 54 to 58 of a Japanese literature "Semiconductor World", Vol. 5, 1984, is made up of a single charged particle source, one kind of electrostatic lens, and a single deflector using an electric or magnetic field. That is, the conventional apparatus does not include means for replacing one of an ion source and an electron source by the other source at a predetermined place without varying a vacuum state, a hybrid lens formed of electrostatic and electromagnetic lenses, and a hybrid deflector formed of electrostatic and electromagnetic deflectors. Thus, the conventional apparatus does not have functions of forming both an electron beam and an ion beam in the same optical system, focusing the electron beam and the ion beam independently of each other or in the same operating mode, and deflecting the electron beam and the ion beam independently of each other or in the same operating mode.
In a case where the characterization at a local area is estimated by the conventional charged particle apparatus, there arise the following problems.
(1) The conventional charged particle apparatus does not have a function of observing and estimating the internal structure of the local area three-dimensionally.
(2) A focused ion beam can etch the local area by sputtering, and hence can expose that inner part of the local area which is to be estimated. However, an ion beam is inferior in focusing to an electron beam, and it is impossible from the practical point of view to focus the ion beam on a spot having a diameter less than 1,000 .ANG.. Meanwhile, the electron beam is excellent in focusing, and is advantageously used for observing a surface. However, the electron beam does not have the element transportation ability, and hence cannot expose an inner part of the local area. Accordingly, the internal structure of the local area cannot be estimated only by one of the ion beam and the electron beam.